Each council employee last year averaged 11.49 sick days – more than double the UK average.

Staff in the waste collection and street cleansing departments are this year averaging about 25 sick days each.

If the changes are approved by the council’s Labour Cabinet on December 6, council staff – apart from those employed directly by schools –would not be paid for the first three days each time they are off ill.

But Mr Davies instead suggested reforming the council’s disciplinary system would enable managers to identify those repeatedly calling in sick.

“What the Labour-run Cardiff council are proposing makes little sense. Instead of tackling the root causes of high sickness related absence they want to introduce a system that universally condemns, penalising staff with genuine short term illnesses that make it difficult to get to work, particularly those on lower wages,” he said.

“For every worker that it encourages to think twice about calling in sick there will be another unwisely forcing themselves into the office because they can’t afford to lose a day’s pay.

“There’s a real danger that it will make infectious bugs and other ailments easier to pass around the office, causing greater sickness in the long run.”

He said the Labour administration was “laying all of the blame on the staff, rather than tackling the causes of high levels of sickness”.

“There is a strong case for reducing the number of formal stages in the disciplinary process and make it easier to identify and deal with those who may be abusing the system, but this needs to be done fairly and constructively,” Mr Davies added.

Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood said council staff – who have faced three years of pay freezes – should not be punished for being sick.

Trade union leaders have vowed to fight the proposal to withhold pay, which is included in the council’s draft Attendance and Well Being Policy.

Councillor Russell Goodway, Cabinet member for finance, will present the policy at Wednesday’s policy review and performance scrutiny committee meeting.

Once consultation has ended, the proposals will be finalised ahead of being considered by cabinet on December 6.

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